First apartment budget help

With $2,900 take home, keep it simple and automate as much as possible. Core monthly plan: $1,100 rent, $150 utilities, $300 groceries, $120 transit, $40 phone, $35 internet if not included, $12 renters insurance, $40 household supplies, and $120 fun. That puts you near $1,917 for living costs. Add a $600 automatic transfer to your emergency fund the day after each payday so it happens before you see the money.

Set aside $150 in a sinking fund for irregular stuff like co-pays, gifts, and basic repairs, which brings the plan to about $2,667 and leaves roughly $230 for move-in odds and ends or extra savings. For the emergency fund target, core bills are about $1,757 per month, so three months is around $5,300. You have $3,000 already, so four months of $600 gets you there. If internet is already in that $150 utilities, redirect the $35 line to savings until you confirm the first two bills. With a roommate and agree on a shared staples list and settle up monthly so household items do not blow the groceries line. an example is alternating who buys toilet paper and tracking it in a notes app.

Common pitfalls are first month setup costs, seasonal utility spikes, and annual renewals, which the $150 sinking fund should catch if you let it roll over. Do a five minute check each week and a quick month end reset, and if a category runs hot, trim fun or pause extra savings for that month rather than swiping a credit card.

Rent 1100, utilities 150, groceries 300, transit 120, fun 100, save 700, buffer 430, because surprises happen and they do.

I wouldn't chase fancy percentages. Start with rent 1100, utilities 150, groceries 300, transit 120, fun 75, savings 700, and leave roughly 455 for all the junk that shows up, like internet, phone, renters insurance, and the random Target runs. My first month nuked my budget with deposits and small stuff, so assume utilities swing and that a roommate will forget to pay you back on time. If the buffer keeps getting eaten, drop fun to 50 and push the rest to a true emergency fund until you hit three months.

I feel for you starting out and but budgeting often leads to disappointment when unexpected costs hit.

Everyone talks up these perfect budgets and but they never account for how life just throws curveballs at you constantly. You think you can save nicely with that income, yet groceries alone might eat up more than you plan if prices keep rising. I tried something similar once and ended up skimping on fun just to break even.

Allocate $400 for groceries, $100 for transit, $200 for fun monthly. Save the rest after essentials to build that fund. Watch for hidden fees like maintenance costs.